Toughen up theft penalties

Five years' probation for 15 burglaries is too weak punishment

In the Ozarks, folks like to use plain common sense to deal with issues - as we note in this regular editorial feature on "common sense" solutions.

A burglary suspect, nabbed with allegedly stolen jewelry in his pocket, is not new to this rodeo. The same guy pleaded guilty to 14 other burglaries - taking a total of $15,000 worth of property - since 2011 and is a suspect in 20 more. He now faces more than 12 years in prison, but it may have been worth the risk because he only received five years' probation for his previous bad deeds. If we want to keep our stuff safe from thieves, we are going to have to make stealing a riskier occupation. It's just common sense.

Another stupid criminal story: An unsuccessful meth cook called the police to his travel trailer to report a burglary. Apparently, he's not much of a housekeeper either, because police found lots of leftover ingredients for a meth lab. He explained that he tried using a meth recipe but "couldn't seem to make it work," so he was saving the stuff for someone who could do a better job. Give up meth: It's making you stupid. It's just common sense.

A bill in the Missouri General Assembly would allow pharmacies to decide which drugs to keep in stock. Sounds reasonable, but the reason behind the bill is to encourage pharmacy owners to refuse to stock emergency contraception, especially Plan B, or other contraception. Businesses should be able to decide what they want to sell, that's true, but a pharmacy that wants to stay in business should consider the number of women of childbearing age who will choose a different drugstore for their contraception, and while they are there will buy their antibiotics, aspirin, makeup and pantyhose. It's just common sense.

In the 1960s, the nation reeled from the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Despite determinations that individual assassins were responsible in both deaths, questions have remained five decades later. James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to killing King and was sentenced to life in prison, but he recanted his plea three days later. He died in prison in 1998, still insisting he was a patsy in a larger conspiracy. We now have technology that could match unidentified fingerprints taken by the FBI at the time, but the agency has been dragging its feet. The country wants to know what really happened, and if today's technology can help solve that riddle, it's time we try. It's just common sense.

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Toughen up theft penalties

In the Ozarks, folks like to use plain common sense to deal with issues ? as we note in this regular editorial feature on 'common sense' solutions. A burglary suspect, nabbed with allegedly stolen